A Great Way to Accelerate Potential Successor’s Development

Most business owners I work with are concerned about whether or not their adult children will be properly prepared and possess the skills and drive to run the family business. As a father myself, I know how tricky it can be to be supportive and encouraging while at the same time trying to push and challenge your kids to be their best.

One of the greatest tools to help the potential successors is to receive straightforward, unfiltered feedback from key stakeholders in the business. At the end of the day, one of the most important attributes for potential successors is to gain the respect of their key employees and vendors. 360° feedback is a perfect tool to help in this process.

The setup of the process is critical. What you don’t want is everyone telling the potential successor what they think you or the successor want to hear. It’s natural for your key stakeholders to want to make you and the potential successor feel good.

That’s where an outsider managing the process can help set the right backdrop for the 360° questionnaire. When we facilitate this process for our clients, we make sure to challenge them to ask the people completing the questionnaire to be courageous and give good developmental feedback.